If you thought Apple Computer's attempt to quash internal leaks by suing bloggers was excessive, consider this: a Taiwanese maker of iPods has sued two Chinese journalists for reporting on labor abuses at its factory in southern China, according to today's South China Morning Post.

It started when China Business News reported that workers at Hongfujin Precision Industry in Shenzhen had to work long hours under harsh conditions and more than half were sick. The company makes iPods for Apple and is a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Foxconn.

An Apple spokesman told the Associated Press that the company is working behind the scenes to resolve the dispute. Meanwhile, Hongfujin filed a 30 million yuan defamation suit (about $3.75 million) against the journalists and persuaded a Shenzhen court to freeze their personal assets: bank accounts, homes and a car.